be to = that 引导的定语从句

What aids there were to lighten labour were immemorial, like the mill, which was already ancient in Chaucer's time.

问:此句中说were to =that 引导的定语从句,What aids there were to lighten labour =What aids there that had been invented to lighten labour ,这是什么语法,be to形式为什么会有这种代替定语从句的用法?

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1 个回答

huck finn   - 语言学爱好者
擅长:语言学

be to = that的说法不知从何而来,感觉不甚可取。

本句关键是抓住what aids there were这个名词性关系从句,它作were immemorial的主语。

what aids there were = The aids that there were,至于to lighten ...不定式可以看作aids的修饰语。

类比:

Whoever wins the game will get a prize. = The person who wins the game will get a prize.

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  • BLUEBELL 提出于 2022-04-19 11:10